The grand final will be held at UK gaming festival Insomnia48 between March 22 and 25 in Telford. Additional qualifiers will take place later this month, as well as during the first day of I48, dubbed the "Bring Your Own Computer" round.

The tournament will also see the debut of StarCraft II expansion Heart of the Swarm, which will be used for the duration of the first season.

Challengers include British World Championship Nick 'Ziktomini' Copello, South Korean Woo 'Sage' Kyung Chul, and Swedish player Stefan 'MorroW' Andersson.

"On a global scale, e-sports are now more popular than cable television, with millions tuning in to tournaments all over the world," explained ESET's Quinton Watts.

"I'm thrilled that we're now able to bring this phenomenon to the UK, to provide UK competitive gamers with a chance to compete, win prizes and thrill the masses. This is the beginning of something special."

Heart of the Swarm is the second of three StarCraft II instalments and follows on from Wings of Liberty.

Blizzard confirmed that the expansion will feature a host of new units and additional gameplay mechanics. Players will have the option to choose between subspecies of Zerg units and customise their powers through the swarm adaptation feature.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm will be available on the PC on March 12.